Ranking Manchester United's greatest ever strikers | OneFootball

Highlights

Manchester United are a club that were once a dominant force in English football but, while the Red Devils are still seen as the biggest club in England by many, the performances on the pitch have declined drastically over the past decade. The team was once full of leaders and incredible footballers with a key ingredient being at the very top of the team.

The striker position was always occupied by a world-class player during Sir Alex Ferguson's rein at the club, giving the team a huge springboard to success with a clinical hitman getting on the end of the numerous chances created per game by the sensationally talented midfielders playing behind them.

There were times that the club had not only one, but two elite level strikers at the same time, which is a far cry away from the long list of centre-forwards to have failed in the number nine position at Old Trafford since Ferguson retired in 2013. Players such as Wout Weghorst, Radamel Falcao and Anthony Martial have failed to give the team a reliable presence in the opposition penalty area while Edinson Cavani put in an admirable display when given the honour to lead the line, but the Uruguayan was coming to the end of his time at the top of the game.

Players such as Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Robin van Persie all miss out on the list despite having strong seasons with the club. So, without further ado, we take a look at the top 10 Manchester United strikers of all time.

10 Dwight Yorke

Yorke may have only spent four years at Old Trafford, but he certainly left an impression in that time as he formed part of one of the all-time great Premier League strikers with a man that will be brought up later on. The Trinidad and Tobago international had a better goal record than one in three as he scored 66 times in 152 games while contributing to three consecutive league titles as well as the famous 1999 Champions League win.

Being an effective part of a front two is becoming a dying art in the modern game with most teams looking to pack the midfield rather than having a duo up-front to keep the opposition defence occupied. Yorke was the perfect mix of being selfless but also selfish in the right moments to give himself an edge in front of goal.

9 Teddy Sheringham

Like Yorke, the English forward didn't spend a massive portion of his career with the Red Devils and he wasn't even a regular starter for a couple of the seasons he spent at the 'Theatre of Dreams'. Sheringham did manage to fire in 46 goals over a four season spell as he continued his very strong goal scoring form from previous clubs.

Perhaps the biggest moment of Sheringham's entire career - and the moment he is best remembered for in a Manchester United - is his stoppage-time equaliser against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer then went on to net the winner to secure United's historic treble after already wrapping up the league and FA Cup.

8 Mark Hughes

Many modern fans of the game are likely to know Hughes as the man to manage Premier League clubs such as Stoke City, Blackburn Rovers and Queens Park Rangers in the past 15 years and even having a stint with Man United's biggest rivals, Manchester City. To a certain generation however, the Welshman will always be known as a top class forward with the best years of his career playing out at Old Trafford.

In fact, Hughes had two separate spells with the English club with a stint at Barcelona sandwiched in between in the late 1980s. He scored 143 times from 400 games which points in the direction of Hughes not being the most clinical striker the club has ever seen, but it was definitely the best goalscoring time in his own career. It was a perfect match for both parties at the time, with Hughes remembered fondly by those that have forgiven his managerial stint with the 'noisy neighbours'.

7 Andy Cole

Cole is the infamous aforementioned strike partner of Yorke and the pair really did light up the division in their time together. He did have a longer career at Old Trafford than his former teammate and scored more goals for the club which is why he gets a higher ranking on this list. It was actually a shock that Newcastle United santioned the sale of the English forward to their league rivals in 1995.

A £6 million deal that also saw Keith Gillespie head in the opposite direction was a very substantial fee at the time, although ins made to look like a very nominal fee in today's market. As is becoming a common theme with the players being mentioned, his time at Man United was the best spell of his career as he managed over 100 goals for the side.

6 Jack Rowley

It is a name that will be very unfamiliar to the majority of fans, and it would be easy to pretend otherwise but we have done our best to inform those that are unaware. Rowley was signed for a fee of £30,000 in 1937 at the age of 17-years-old before spending 17 years with the club. Obviously, six of those years fell at the same time as World War II which means he only actually competed in 12 seasons.

Rowley netted double figure goals in nine of those 12 seasons which makes him a reliable goalscorer by anyone's standards and United could even do with a player as consistent as this for the 2023/24 season. Maybe a rogue shout due to the fact he isn't too well-known in the modern day, but the numbers don't lie.

5 Ruud van Nistelrooy

Ferguson didn't make many mistakes at all across the dynasty he built at Old Trafford but many do believe the decision to sell Van Nistelrooy was the wrong decision at the time. Granted, the Dutch hitman had lost a bit of form in his last campaign at the club in comparison to previous years. For context, he scored 21 league goals in 2005/06 before being sold to Real Madrid and that was considered to be a drop in form. 21 goals.

Possibly the best finisher on this entire list, the Netherlands international was the master of taking his shot early in order to catch the goalkeeper off-guard. Even the more games he played, you'd expect this to be picked up by the opposition, but his movement and finishing ability was still too much for anyone to handle. Van Nistelrooy scored 150 times in 219 games for the Red Devils which is just insanity.

4 Denis Law

Law became the first ever Scottish football player to have won the Ballon d'Or in 1964 and that is a record that still stands to this day. It is also very likely to continue as the record for a long time also with no current Scotland internationals living up to the lofty standards set by Law and the likes of Kenny Dalglish. It goes to show just how impressive Law was that he is still seen as a Manchester United icon even after closing out his career at their City rivals in 1974.

The Scot found the back of the net more than 200 times with a record close to two goals in every three games during his time on the red side of Manchester. It would have been interesting to see how Law would get on in the modern world of football, but all evidence points towards him being a success regardless of what era he found himself in.

3 Sir Bobby Charlton

The second man to get his hands on a Ballon d'Or on this list, but Charlton went one better than Law had done previously by winning the honour on two occasions. There is an argument that the 1966 World Cup winner should be higher than third here due to the incredible number of goals he scored. The now 86-year-old held the record as the club's top scorer for a number of decades until it was broken in 2017.

199 goals is sensational by anyone's standards and is a big reason as to why the Englishman is such a fan favourite still to this day. Charlton is also at a slight disadvantage due to the fact he played a large portion of his career games from midfield and played more of a creative role.

2 Eric Cantona

Known as 'King Cantona' at Old Trafford, the man signed from Leeds United turned out to be a stroke of genius by Ferguson in 1992. Until Roy Keane came around, the French forward was seen as one of the best captains the club had ever seen which goes to show the level of popularity and respect he held through his five years at Manchester United.

The big striker was very powerful, but also possessed the pace and skill expected of a much shorter player which made him unique in the game. Cantona retired at the age of 31 in 1997 and this was an unexpected move as many players continue playing into their mid-30s at least. It did allow him to hang up his boots while also being at the very top, and thus not allowing his reputation to be damaged while still being seen as one of the .

1 Wayne Rooney

It is only right that in a list of strikers, the man to have scored the most sits right at the very top. Rooney broke Charlton's aforementioned record as the Red Devils' top goalscorer of all time with 253 goals to his name. He was also the top English scorer ever until Harry Kane recently broke that record of 53 goals. Going on to captain the club and become the talisman at Old Trafford, it certainly justifies Ferguson's decision to bring him into the club as an 18-year-old from Everton in 2004.

Rooney played for Man United for 13 years and it is remarkable to think that he took no time at all to settle in his new surroundings after netting a hat-trick on his Champions League debut. The English forward was always a clinical finisher with the ability to score on either foot or even with his head on a number of occasions, but was also more than just a poacher. His technical ability was incredible as shown by the fact he dropped into a midfield role in the later years of his career.